Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, left, and her partner, Jacquelyn Zita, wave to supporters as they leave the Minnesota House chambers in the State Capitol in St. Paul on Thursday, May 9, 2013, after the House approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to wed. (Pioneer Press: John Doman)

Minnesota took a big step toward becoming the 12th state in the nation to legalize gay marriage.

The state House approved a bill allowing same-sex marriages by a 75-59 vote Thursday, May 9, after three hours of strikingly civil debate and personal, sometimes emotional speeches.

When the historic vote was announced, a roar from supporters bounced off the Capitol walls.

“It’s not time to uncork the champagne yet, but it’s chilling,” Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, later told supporters at a rally in the Capitol Rotunda.

The bill faces one more test: Monday in the state Senate where supporters say they have the votes to pass it.

If approved, Gov. Mark Dayton could put his expected signature on it as soon as Tuesday, and gay marriages could begin Aug. 1.

The emotional debate in the House was highlighted by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Karen Clark, a Minneapolis DFLer who is gay. She recognized her partner, who had come to the Capitol for the vote, and made a plea to her fellow representatives to support the legislation.

“Same-sex couples pay our taxes. We vote. We serve in the military. We take care of our kids and our elders, and we run businesses in Minnesota,” Clark said before the vote.

“Same-sex couples should be treated fairly under the law, including the freedom to marry the person we love.”

Minnesota for Marriage, the main group opposing gay marriage, issued a statement afterward urging the Senate to block the bill.

“The Senate must ask themselves whether or not they will choose to classify half of Minnesotans who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots under the law,” the group said.

“They must decide whether it is important in Minnesota to encourage connecting children with their parents. They must decide whether or not mothers and fathers have a place in their law. We hope they make the right decision.”

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, urged supporters to keep up the fight until Monday.

“We’ve got a weekend of hard work ahead of us,” he said.

The bill would change state law to specify that marriage is a civil contract between “two persons” rather than “a man and woman.”

It also would remove same-sex marriage from the list of “prohibited” marriages, lift a prohibition on recognizing same-sex marriages from other states and adjust other language.

In addition, the bill would offer protection for clergy and religious organizations that don’t want to solemnize gay marriages.

POLITICAL CHANGE

It was two years ago that a then Republican-led Legislature voted to put a question on the November 2012 ballot asking voters to limit marriage to heterosexuals in the Minnesota Constitution.

Voters rejected the amendment 52 percent to 47 percent. They also elected a slew of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party legislators that switched control of the Legislature to the DFL and eased the way for the gay marriage campaign.

In the days leading up to the House vote, no Republicans signaled they would vote for the bill. But Thursday, 71 House DFLers were joined by four Republicans: David FitzSimmons of Albertville, Pat Garofalo of Farmington, Andrea Kieffer of Woodbury and Jenifer Loon of Eden Prairie.

FitzSimmons successfully offered an amendment that added religious-freedom protections to Clark’s bill and inserted the word “civil” in front of “marriage” to underscore state law deals with a civil, not a religious, status. It affects all marriages.

He, Garofalo and Loon said the beefed-up religious protections were key in gaining their support.

Loon said she decided Thursday on the floor to vote “yes.” She said she was swayed by her colleagues’ speeches and feedback from her constituents and family. Roughly 60 percent of residents in her district voted against last fall’s marriage amendment.

One email that particularly struck Loon was from one of her daughter’s closest friends from high school. The young woman, now in college, is like a daughter to Loon. And she is gay.

“I had no idea,” Loon said. “And as a mother, and I’ve heard from so many parents with gay children, for them this is so important for them to have their children feel accepted in society.”

Two DFLers voted against the bill: Patti Fritz of Faribault and Mary Sawatzky of Willmar. Both represent districts where a majority of voters supported last fall’s unsuccessful constitutional amendment.

PERSONAL DECISIONS

Before voting Thursday, many House members told personal stories behind their decisions.

Rep. Jason Isaacson, DFL-Shoreview, talked about wanting his first child, due this summer, to grow up in a more tolerant and loving world.

Rep. Rena Moran, DFL-St. Paul, who is black, likened the push for gay marriage to efforts by her ancestors to fight for civil rights.

“Either we are equal or we’re not equal,” she said. “I stand believing that we are on the right side of history.”

DFLer Tim Faust, a Lutheran pastor from Hinckley, said there was a time he would likely have voted against gay marriage but that his mind had changed after several conversations on the issue.

“Do we as a society have the right to impose our religious beliefs on somebody else?” he asked his colleagues.

Faust is one of 17 DFLers from “swing” districts where a majority of voters supported last fall’s marriage amendment. Fifteen of the 17 voted for the bill.

Most of the floor speeches were from DFLers, but several Republicans spoke as well. They urged the majority not to forget the 47 percent of voters — about 1.4 million Minnesotans — who supported last fall’s amendment.

“Half of the people might be saying that this isn’t coming soon enough, and the other half are saying this is coming too soon,” said Republican Kurt Daudt of Crown, the House minority leader. “Minnesota really is divided on this issue. Now is not the time.”

Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, said she had wrestled with several questions, including: “Is this a decision you and your kids and future generations of Minnesotans can live well with?”

“Today we are being asked to redefine marriage … a bedrock of our society for thousands of years,” said Republican Kelby Woodard of Belle Plaine. “If it weighs heavy on your heart, it should.”

The House vote came one year to the day after President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage. Since Election Day in November, when three states voted to legalize gay marriage, two more have done so, bringing the total to 11, plus the District of Columbia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Doug Belden can be reached at 651-228-5136. Megan Boldt can be reached at 651-228-5495.

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